{"id":4755,"date":"2026-02-04T17:34:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T17:34:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:34:57","slug":"why-catalyst-2026-hear-from-2025-winner-rooted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/news\/why-catalyst-2026-hear-from-2025-winner-rooted","title":{"rendered":"Why Catalyst 2026? Hear from 2025 Winner Rooted"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15,14],"class_list":["post-4755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-catalyst","tag-social-entrepreneurship"],"acf":{"header":{"copy":"","hero_image":false,"hero_image_treatment":"cover","video":false,"inversed":false,"members_only":false},"premium_image":false,"author":{"team_member":{"ID":324,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2019-01-07 20:48:18","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-07 20:48:18","post_content":"","post_title":"Dori Kreiger","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dori-kreiger","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2019-03-25 17:18:31","post_modified_gmt":"2019-03-25 17:18:31","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"\/about-ctia\/the-ctia-team\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"team_member","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},"name":"","title":"","image":false,"has_second_author":false,"second_author":false,"second_author_name":"","second_author_title":"","second_author_image":false},"caption":"","youtube_id":"","image":false,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"

Catalyst 2026 is well underway, and we can\u2019t wait to learn about all the new ways social entrepreneurs are leveraging wireless to solve pressing issues in American communities.<\/p>\n

With a few weeks left in the 2026 application cycle, I caught up with AJ Protin, the founder of Catalyst 2025 Winner Rooted<\/a>, to see what being part of the Catalyst community has meant as he strives to help more families reach their homeownership goals.<\/p>\n","show_glossary":false,"glossary":null,"show_infographic":false,"infographic":null,"show_document":false,"document":null,"show_video":false,"video_caption":"","video_youtube_id":"","video_image":false,"show_image":false,"sidebar_image":false,"sidebar_image_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"video","video":{"url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ys-yfp-cU5U","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"

Rooted is a mobile platform for mortgage readiness, connecting users to expert coaching via SMS text messaging to drive gains in financial stability, homeownership and wealth creation.<\/p>\n

Q: Why did you apply for Catalyst?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> We believed that our focus on using wireless technology, especially 5G and SMS text messaging, to deliver our services made us an excellent fit for CTIA Wireless Foundation. We also knew that Catalyst funding would be transformative for our organization.<\/p>\n

\"\"Q: What made Catalyst stand out to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> We believed that the endorsement of the CTIA Wireless Foundation, high-quality video and marketing assets, and the press that we would garner as Catalyst winners would be beneficial to our fundraising efforts and our growing national profile.<\/p>\n

Q: What was the highlight of your Catalyst 2025 experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> The award week in D.C. in September was a highlight of our Catalyst 2025 experience. It is always valuable for us to meet other social entrepreneurs and learn about what other exciting ventures are in the program. Additionally, we found it rewarding (and very fun!) to meet and spend time with CTIA and Foundation staff. The travel stipend was generous and allowed us more than enough flexibility to stay close to the CTIA offices and focus on enjoying the week.<\/p>\n

Q: What has the Catalyst grant allowed your organization to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Catalyst funding has allowed us to do two things that are essential to achieving our next stage of growth. First, Catalyst funding allowed us to hire a director of partnerships, which will greatly increase the number of nonprofit housing counseling agencies who use Rooted to expand access to homeownership. Second, Catalyst funding has given us resources to invest in improving Rooted and adding features that our partner organizations request. To achieve our mission and scale nationally, Rooted will need to be an all-in-one solution for problems and pain points facing housing counseling agencies. Catalyst funding has rapidly advanced our progress towards this goal, allowing us to add features such as expanded text messaging tools, customized intake flows, and a robust evaluation suite.<\/p>\n

Q: What would you say to social entrepreneurs considering applying for Catalyst?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Catalyst funding and winning the award has been crucial to our organization\u2019s success this year, and the funding and the press was absolutely worth the organizational time and resources it took to apply.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","show_glossary":false,"glossary":null,"show_infographic":false,"infographic":null,"show_document":false,"document":null,"show_video":false,"video_caption":"","video_youtube_id":"","video_image":false,"show_image":false,"sidebar_image":false,"sidebar_image_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"

Every year, gathering with our Catalyst alumni in Washington, D.C. is a highlight. We can\u2019t wait to meet our newest group of innovators and welcome them into the Catalyst community!<\/p>\n

Are you a social entrepreneur with a mobile-first solution?\u00a0Apply for Catalyst<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0February 24th<\/sup><\/strong>!<\/p>\n","show_glossary":false,"glossary":null,"show_infographic":false,"infographic":null,"show_document":false,"document":null,"show_video":false,"video_caption":"","video_youtube_id":"","video_image":false,"show_image":false,"sidebar_image":false,"sidebar_image_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"buttons","buttons":[{"title":"Apply Now","link":"https:\/\/catalyst26.skild.com\/login"},{"title":"Call For Submissions","link":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2026-Catalyst-Call-For-Submissions.pdf"}],"alignment":"Center"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.wirelessfoundation.org\/news\/why-catalyst-2026-hear-from-2025-winner-rooted","meta_title":"","meta_keywords":"","meta_description":"","footer":[{"acf_fc_layout":"related","related":[{"ID":4747,"post_author":"21","post_date":"2026-01-28 16:00:40","post_date_gmt":"2026-01-28 16:00:40","post_content":"","post_title":"Why Catalyst 2026? Hear from 2025 Winner CareHome Health Solutions","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"why-catalyst-2026-hear-from-2025-winner-carehome-health-solutions","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-01-28 16:00:40","post_modified_gmt":"2026-01-28 16:00:40","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"\/news\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":4702,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2026-01-07 14:19:15","post_date_gmt":"2026-01-07 14:19:15","post_content":"","post_title":"Accelerating Wireless Powered Impact with Catalyst 2026","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"accelerating-wireless-powered-impact-with-catalyst-2026","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-01-07 14:19:15","post_modified_gmt":"2026-01-07 14:19:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"\/news\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":4721,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2026-01-07 14:18:55","post_date_gmt":"2026-01-07 14:18:55","post_content":"","post_title":"CTIA Wireless Foundation Launches Catalyst 2026, Now Accepting Applications","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"ctia-wireless-foundation-launches-catalyst-2026-now-accepting-applications","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-01-07 19:40:59","post_modified_gmt":"2026-01-07 19:40:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"\/news\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"learn_more","heading":"Catalyst","copy":"Competitive Grants Program for Social Entrepreneurs","button":"Learn More","link":"https:\/\/www.wirelessfoundation.org\/catalyst"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4755\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}